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Remembering those who have left us. This obituaries page is a simple tribute to individuals who touched our lives. May their legacies endure in our memories.
Frieda (Martha) Smith
12/16/1927 - 1/27/2013
Obituary For Frieda (Martha) Smith
Frieda (Martha) Smith, 85, longtime resident of Fairburn, SD, passed away January 27, 2013.Martha was born December 16, 1927 in Rapid City to Von and Alice (Pollard) Smith. As a premature baby, she spent her first months in a cotton lined apple box kept on the oven door of the wood stove for constant warmth.Martha went to the Fairburn Grade School and then roomed in Rapid City to attend high school. She went to Colorado Training School for Nurses in Denver, CO. She then went on to the University of Utah School for Anesthesia, Salt Lake City, UT. She worked at The Dalles, OR Hospital until she became a free lance anesthetist. She then travelled between SD and the west coast working in many hospitals.Martha loved to travel and has been all over the world. She has been to Europe, Central and South America, the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, Australia and Israel. She also travelled all across the USA including Hawaii and Alaska.After retirement, she helped care for her parents. Martha loved her community and served on various organizations. She was a member of the RC & D, in Rapid City, served on the Custer County School Board, was a member of the Fairburn Cemetery Association and especially enjoyed working with the Fairburn Museum and Community Center, which is located in the original Fairburn School. In 1997, Martha was the proud recipient of the Good Neighbor Award. Martha loved to play cards and always had a big garden to share with neighbors.She was preceded in death by her parents and brother in law, Michael Yarina.Survivors include her sister, Lettie Yarina, Tucson, AZ; nieces and nephews, Lavonne (Steve) Rodeffer, Yuma, AZ, MaryAlice (Hank Niggemann), Box Elder, SD, Jim (Connie) Yarina, Silver City, NM, Peggy (Smoke) Baer, Walla Walla, WA, was a great aunt to 8 and a great great aunt to 7.
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